“Why? It’s not like I haven’t known for years you’ve been attracted to each other. I’m just glad you’re both doing something about it. I was getting ready to bump your heads together.”
Not wanting to talk about her relationship with Jennifer anymore, Riley asked, “So why is Mike calling you?”
“He wants to take me out, on a date. I imagine once he knows about this little one”—she ran her hands over her bump—“he’ll run a mile.”
“You never know, he might surprise you and you could get your own happy ending.”
Kelsey looked away, her expression wistful. Riley had always known that Kelsey wanted a family of her own. Her life hadn’t been normal since her parents had died, and she missed them terribly. Kelsey had always talked about having her own children someday, and now she was, except she didn’t have the husband she craved to go with it. Riley wasn’t exactly thrilled that Jennifer’s ex was the father, but if he and Kelsey could make a go of it and be a family, she was all for it.
Chapter Twenty
Riley was just stepping out of her truck when Jennifer’s car pulled up. She hadn’t seen her for a few days and couldn’t believe how much she had missed her. She looked good, really good.
Jennifer smiled at her shyly, lifting her hand to shield her eyes from the early summer sun as she looked up at Riley. “Hey, you.”
“Hi, yourself.” Riley leaned against her truck, shoving her hands into her jeans’ pockets, trying to resist the urge to touch Jennifer. She wanted to kiss her, badly; however, she knew she wouldn’t be able to stop at just a kiss, and a very public PDA probably wasn’t a good idea.
“I haven’t seen you for a couple of days,” Jennifer said.
“I came over yesterday to see you and Kelsey, but you were at the office.”
Jennifer’s face turned somber. “Kelsey told me about what happened with Richard, about the police reports. I tried calling you, to make sure you were okay, but you didn’t answer.”
Riley looked away. “I know. I’m sorry. After I left here, I had to go do a breakdown. I had taken the day off, but it was an emergency. When I got back to the garage, I figured I might as well stay and get some work done.” She had to do something to distract herself from the knowledge her dad had beaten her mum. And not just that, threatened Riley if her mum ever came near her. It was a lot to take in and she still couldn’t wrap her head around it all. Working hadn’t helped, though. It had taken her twice as long to fit a starter motor than usual, as she kept staring off into space.
“It’s okay. So how are you with everything?”
“It’s taking a lot to get my mind around it. I’ve decided to contact my mum, talk with her about it all, and give her a chance to explain why she didn’t take me with her.”
Jennifer touched her arm, the warmth of her hand comforting Riley. “If you want me to come with you, I can.”
“Thank you, but I think it’s something I need to do by myself.” After a few moments of gazing at each other, she asked, “So, how are you after the other night?” She didn’t want to ask out of fear that Jennifer might have regrets, but judging by the pink tinging Jennifer’s cheeks, and the fire in her eyes, there were no regrets in sight.
“Things kind of got out of hand, didn’t they?”
“Yeah, but it was good.”
“So good. God, I never thought I could get so turned on just by kissing you.”
“It was a little more than kissing. Are you okay with it all?”
“Don’t look so worried. I haven’t gone running to the hills. I am very much looking forward to seeing you again.”
Jennifer moved closer, invading her personal space. A shiver worked its way up Riley’s spine, her stomach rolling. She was so close to Jennifer, could feel her breath fluttering on her skin.
“Kiss me,” Jennifer breathed. It came out as a strangled plea. She couldn’t disguise her lust even if she wanted to.
Riley dipped her head, and Jennifer lifted hers.
“How could you let this happen?” A man’s voice cut through the lust-filled haze as their lips brushed.
“Who was that?” Riley asked as they looked toward Jennifer’s house, where the voice came from.
“That sounds like my ex. Come on.”
Riley followed Jennifer up the walk, a sense of doom making her steps heavy. Jennifer was about to find out the truth about Kelsey’s baby’s daddy, and Riley hoped she wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire. Chances were good she would be. She always was when it came to the sisters. She prayed that now her relationship with Jennifer was progressing into romance, Jennifer wouldn’t blame her.
“Kelsey? Mike? What’s going on?” Jennifer asked as she entered the kitchen where Mike and Kelsey stood close together.
“Shit, I thought you wouldn’t be back for a while,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey looked nervous, and guilty. Riley looked at Mike. He was just as handsome as he’d been when she last saw him. Taller than Riley by a few inches, jet-black hair styled perfectly, and a body that obviously spent hours in the gym. A fleeting stab of jealousy hit Riley square in the chest. Taking a few deep breaths, she reminded herself that Jennifer and Mike had broken up for a reason, and Jennifer’s mouth had been on hers a moment ago.
“I forgot a folder I needed.” Jennifer’s gaze rapidly moved between her sister and her ex. “I’ll ask again: what’s going on?”
“You should tell her, Kelsey,” Riley heard herself say. “She’ll find out eventually.”
Kelsey took a deep breath and blurted, “Mike is the father of my baby.”
“What?” Jennifer pivoted to face Riley. “And you knew?”
So much for not getting the blame.
“Of course you knew, you tell each other everything. I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me.”
Jennifer’s eyes were filled with hurt, but Riley had done nothing wrong. She refused to take the blame. “Hey, I only found out the day before yesterday. And it wasn’t my place to say. Plus, I had my own stuff going on.”
Jennifer briefly closed her eyes, giving her a slight nod. She turned back to Mike. “How could you sleep with my sister?”
“Jen, we broke up years ago. It shouldn’t matter.”
“Well it does. It’s all kinds of icky.” She glared at Kelsey. “And you should have known better.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ve always known I had a crush on him. It just happened.”
“Yes, and now you two are having a baby.” She pinched the bridge of her nose, and all Riley wanted to do was hug her.
“No, she’s having a baby,” Mike said. “I want nothing to do with it.”
“What? You can’t just spread your seed, then run away. You have responsibilities,” Jennifer said.
“I’ve just made partner in my firm; I haven’t got time for kids. Plus, my dad would have a fit.”
“You should have thought of that before you slept with my best friend,” Riley seethed, her temper now flaring. She knew how it felt not to know who your father was, and she couldn’t believe he could do this.
“Look, Kelsey, I’m sorry,” Mike said. “I really do like you, but I can’t have kids. It’s too late to take care of it, so I’ll sign whatever I have to, to waive my rights.”
“Mike, please don’t do this,” Kelsey pleaded, tears forming in her eyes.
“The baby deserves to know its father,” Riley added.
“Well, that ain’t me. Send the papers to my office.” He stormed out the back door, slamming it behind him.
“Fucking prick,” Riley muttered, glaring at the door. She turned back to her friend, dismayed to see her fully crying now. She went to her and gathered her in her arms, feeling Kelsey’s tears soak her shirt. “Kelsey, I’m so sorry.”
“I told you he’d do a runner once he found out,” she said.
“Tell us what happened,” Riley said.
“I phoned him back after you came by the other day, and he agreed to meet. He thought I was calling him for a booty c
all.” She pulled away, then sat in one of the kitchen chairs, resting her hands on her bump. “When I answered the door and his eyes dropped to my belly, he flipped out. He started talking about adoption, giving my baby away. Said we can hook up once I got rid of it. As if I’d do that!”
“What a selfish asshole.” Riley tried hard to not let her anger show. Kelsey needed support, not her flipping out. But she wanted to punch him in the face. What the hell did they see in him anyway? Sure, he was good-looking, but apparently, he didn’t care about anything but himself.
“I’m sorry, Jen, that it was him, but I’m not sorry about the baby.”
“Oh, honey,” Jennifer said as she took hold of one of Kelsey’s hands. “It’s okay. He’s not worth worrying about. I think if you give him a chance to get his head around it, he might surprise you.”
“No. You didn’t see his face when he knew it was his. How can anyone say that about their own kid?” She looked like she was going to burst into tears again and she also looked extremely worn out.
“You need to go lie down,” Jennifer said. “You don’t look too good. Go get into bed and I’ll bring you some tea.”
Kelsey stood, then hugged Jennifer. “I really am sorry, Jen.”
“It’s okay.”
Kelsey slowly made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Jennifer looked at Riley, shaking her head. “She’s heartbroken.”
“Yeah. I was hoping she’d get her happy ending. She’s always talked about having a family of her own.”
“Wasn’t I enough?”
Jennifer looked stricken, and Riley realised just how careless that had sounded. She took her in her arms. “No, I didn’t mean it that way. She loves living with you. She could never repay you for keeping you both together. She just always wanted to be a mum. A chance to raise kids the way you did with her. She just wanted the husband and white picket fence to go with it.”
“We certainly didn’t have it easy. I hope I did the right thing quitting school and raising her.”
“Don’t you ever doubt that again.” Riley cupped her cheeks, making sure Jennifer could look directly into her eyes. “She loves you to death. If she heard you talking like this, it would crush her.” She kissed her forehead. “You did an amazing job, even with me underfoot.”
“I look back now, at how hard it was, but I’d do it all again. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Even me tormenting you all the time?”
“You’re still doing it, just in a different way.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I was so ready for you the other day. If Richard hadn’t shown up, I probably would have ripped your clothes off.” Jennifer kissed her. Not like they had kissed during the heavy session they had the other night, but more of a kiss reaffirming their attraction to each other.
Riley was the first to pull away. “Jesus, Jenny. You’re making me crazy.”
Kelsey’s voice called down from upstairs. “Can you put each other down for a minute and bring me my tea?”
They sprang apart from each other, guiltily, although they were doing nothing wrong. “The queen has spoken,” Jennifer said.
Chapter Twenty-one
“Riley?”
Riley turned around at the sound of Angela’s voice. “Hello, Mother.” She had called her yesterday to arrange a meeting at a local wine bar and had arrived a half hour early, needing a beer to help settle her nerves before her mother showed up.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” Angela said as she settled into a lounge chair opposite her. She seemed nervous. Riley could understand that. She herself had a sick feeling in her gut, and her palms hadn’t stopped sweating since she had arrived.
“I didn’t really have a choice after you sent your husband to my house. I believe this is yours.” She handed over the folder of reports Richard had given her, minus the cards and letters. Riley would keep them as they were meant for her originally.
Angela took the file, her hand trembling. “Did you look through it?” she asked, keeping her head down but maintaining eye contact.
“You know I did, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” She was being snarky, she knew, but her anger about what she had learned refused to dissipate.
“And what did you think?”
“What do you want me to say?” She glanced at the other people in the bar, gathering her thoughts. “It paints a pretty clear picture.” She looked back at her mother. “The one thing that isn’t clear is why you would leave me behind.” The feeling of abandonment over the last seventeen years washed over her. She couldn’t get her head around her mother leaving her with such a violent asshole.
Angela excused herself to get a glass of wine, obviously needing time to gather her thoughts. She returned to her seat and took a large gulp of her white wine. She took a deep breath and Riley steeled herself for the answer she so desperately craved.
“Two weeks after he threw me out, I came by to pick up some stuff. He came home early and caught me packing a bag for you.” She stared intently at Riley. “I always intended to take you with me.” Riley nodded for her to continue. “He grabbed my arms and started shouting at me. Calling me a whore, a good-for-nothing tramp. He said I was to never go near you again or he’d kill me. I threatened to go to the police. Legally he wasn’t your father, he had no right to keep you.” She took another sip. “He said if I ever attempted to contact you again, he wouldn’t just kill me, he’d bury you in the back garden.”
Riley shook her head vehemently. “He wouldn’t have done that. He never touched me.”
“I know, but I couldn’t take that chance. He had been hitting me for years. It wasn’t a crazy leap to think he’d do the same to you.”
“But he loved me.”
“I’m sure in his own way he did. But I couldn’t risk it. I loved you so much, I thought it better if I just left. I kept an eye on you, though, at a distance.” Riley raised her eyebrows, sceptical. She would have noticed if her mum had been following her around. “I had to make sure you were happy, that he never hurt you. I watched as you went to and from school. I was there when you went to the prom with a very beautiful young lady. I was there when you opened your garage the first day. I saw you cut the ribbon. I have always been here, Riley, just not where you could see me. As soon as I read he had died, I came to you.”
She seemed sincere. It had to be true. She couldn’t have known about Riley’s prom date unless she had been there. Her dad didn’t even know she’d gone with a girl. She hadn’t yet come out, so she had told everyone she was going by herself. She had met her date outside the school gates so her dad wouldn’t find out.
“I did wonder how you found my address, and phone number.” It wouldn’t be hard to find where Riley worked, but her home address was unlisted. Following her would have been the only way Angela could have found her. She wasn’t sure she was happy about the fact her mum had basically been stalking her. She could have come and spoken to me.
“If I had seen anything to suggest he hurt you, I would have come for you. I would have made sure it was the last time.”
“I wish you had. After you left he started drinking heavily. Started distancing himself from me. I thought it was because he still loved you, but now I think he kept me just to spite you. We never did anything together anymore, no more fishing, no more watching sports. He began to resent me, and now I know it was because he wasn’t my dad and he hated you.” She felt betrayed. If he had let her go with her mother, she might have had a better life. But if he had, she might not have met Kelsey, or Jennifer. For that fact alone, she was almost grateful he had kept her. She would never change her life if it meant she might not have had them in it.
“Honey, I am so sorry.” Angela reached across the glass table and placed her hand on Riley’s tight fist. It was the first time she had felt her mother’s touch for years, and it felt good, felt right. Slowly Riley’s resentment evaporated. It would take work, on both their parts, to build a relationship, but Riley w
anted to at least try. They had a second chance, and although she would never be able to gain those lost years back, she was hopeful for the future.
She loosened her fist and laced their fingers together. Her mother’s smile was electric. “It’s okay, well, it’s not, but it will be. He’s gone now. He can’t hurt us anymore.”
“He was still your father.”
“Yeah, and I’ll always look back on those first ten years fondly. I’m sorry I never noticed what was going on.”
“Not your fault.” She shook her head. “He was skilled at when he would hurt me. He didn’t want you to see.”
“I hate him for keeping you from me. Everything sucked after you left, except for meeting Kelsey.”
“Kelsey?”
“She’s my best friend. I met her at junior school. We’ve been like sisters since then. Her parents died when she was eleven, so we bonded over having lost our parents. She’s pregnant now, due in about a month.” Riley smiled fondly. She would be a godmother in a few weeks. She couldn’t wait to help Kelsey raise her child. She would do a much better job than her dad ever did. Riley vowed to never let anything happen to the little boy or girl. She would be there for him or her every step of the way.
“She sounds pretty special to you,” her mother said.
“She is. There’s something else you should know. I’m a lesbian.”
“I know. Richard mentioned he interrupted your date. But I knew that already when you were young.”
“How?”
“A mother knows.”
Riley didn’t believe that.
“Plus, the fact I saw you kissing your prom date after the dance finished pretty much erased any doubts I might have had.”
“That’s weird, knowing you were spying on me.”
“Not spying, keeping an eye out. And as soon as you started making out, I left. Is this woman special to you also?”
“Yes, she is. She’s Kelsey’s sister. She’s five years older and has spent the past seventeen years hating me, or so I thought. Turns out we were both fighting an attraction to each other.”
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